BURLINGTON – An unlikely match-up in the bottom of the sixth between Sedro-Woolley Cubs’ pitcher Maddie Lynch-Crumrine and Burlington-Edison’s Holly Bradley – the number nine hitter in the Tigers’ lineup – proved to be the game-winning at-bat in Burlington-Edison’s 3-1 win over Sedro-Woolley in Northwest Conference girls’ fastpitch softball action Wednesday afternoon.
With Jasmine Rigelman on third base and Ashlynn Ishikawa on second base, two outs and a full count on Bradley, Lynch-Crumrine pitched inside, outside, up in the strike zone and down in the strike zone. Bradley kept fouling off pitch after pitch to stay alive in the box with two runners on and the score locked at one apiece.
After multiple foul balls, Lynch-Crumrine tried to blow a fastball past Bradley, but the Tiger left-fielder brought the head of her aluminum bat right through the middle of the ball and bashed a line-drive into centerfield as the Tiger dugout erupted in excitement. Rigelman scored easily from third and Ishikawa made it around from second as the throw from centerfield was cut off by Lynch-Crumrine in an attempt to tag Bradley as she slid into second base for what would be the game-winning, two-run double.
Lynch-Crumrine struck out 12 Tigers, allowed seven hits and four walks in suffering the loss, and was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
The Tigers’ Lindsey Dawson pitched brilliantly in earning the win, striking out 15 Cubs, walking only one, and giving up four hits.
Dawson had a single and a double with a run batted in on offense, while Rachelle Berry added a single and a run for Burlington-Edison. Ishikawa contributed a pair of singles in the Tigers’ fourth straight win.
